Brexit BOMBSHELL: How leaving the EU will set the UK FREE from ‘CAPTIVE’ French market

BREXIT will allow the UK to free itself from being a “captive market” of the French, as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is nothing but a crashing burden on the British economy, Tony Benn fired in a throwback interview.

Today, Theresa May has summoned Conservative MEPs to Downing Street amid speculation an imminent delay to Brexit will be soon announced. The critical vote on Mrs May's Withdrawal Agreement is scheduled for next Tuesday. However, today's development raises doubts over whether the Prime Minister wants the meaningful vote to go ahead or if she plans to delay Article 50. According to a new BBC study, Mrs May is heading for an unprecedented defeat – with 433 MPs due to vote against the deal, which would leave just 206 voting in support.

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Those against include 111 rebel Conservative backbenchers, the report adds.

As the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal feeds growing uncertainty, a throwback interview of Tony Benn has emerged, in which he explains exactly how leaving the EU could “immediately” benefit the British economy.

At the time, Mr Benn was campaigning against the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Community in the 1975 referendum.

During a debate with Labour MP Roy Jenkins, hosted by David Dimbleby in 1975, Mr Benn argued that the CAP is a “siege economy” designed to favour the French and harm Britain.

After Brexit, the UK will have right to free itself from being a “captive market” of the French (Image: GETTY)

Theresa May has summoned Tory MEPs amid speculation an imminent delay to Brexit will be announced (Image: GETTY)

He said: “We will have the right when we have left the Community to free ourselves from being a captive market of the French and economic food farmers, which will be a benefit to us.

“And we will have the right to invest in the recovery of our own industry, free from the control under Article 92 of the commission.”

Mr Benn explained: “The Common Agricultural Policy is a siege economy for French farmers.

“Nobody argues that because French farmers are uncompetitive, there is overmanning and they should be laid off.

“Every country is losing people in the land but the fact is that the French agricultural system is a protected system and, if cheaper staff comes in from the outside, its prices are raised to the level of french agricultural and then we pay the price.

Tony Benn claimed the CAP is nothing but a crashing burden on the British economy (Image: GETTY)

French president Charles de Gaulle vetoed the UK’s attempts to join what is now the EU (Image: GETTY)

“Now, that doesn’t happen with cars.

“We don’t have a car mountain and as a Birmingham MP it would be rather attractive I would have thought, but we don’t.

“We have butter mountains and beef mountains because the Common Agricultural Policy was developed to benefit the French and if you read De Gaulle’s famous veto speech, he said the CAP would be a crashing burden on the British economy.

“He never thought that Mr Heath would go on his knees and accept it.”

In the 1960s, French president Charles de Gaulle vetoed the UK’s attempts to join the EEC, the precursor to what is now the EU.

However, after his successor Georges Pompidou took office, France reversed its opposition to British entry and former Prime Minister Edward Heath officially took the UK into what is now the European Union.